General Information

Curriculum

Advising

Admission

ADVISING

The CIS Office of Academic Advising is located in LC 238 in the library building. To get directions to Polytechnic Institute of NYU, please click here.

Advising Staff

Susana Garcia-Henriquez
Coordinator of Academic Advising
Email: sgarcia@poly.edu
Phone: 718.260.3290
Room: LC 238



We provide academic support services for undergraduate & graduate Computer Science students, in areas such as:

• Registration and scheduling advice.
• Assistance with degree audits/graduation checklists.
• Transfer and Advanced Placement credit evaluation.
• Help with academic problems.
• Changing majors.
• Referrals to other Student Support Services on campus.

What Every Student Should Know About Academic Advising

As a student, you have the responsibility of choosing your own program of studies. Your adviser can inform you of available academic alternatives. While your adviser will be willing to suggest specific study programs, he or she will not insist that you follow a particular course of study. By the end of the first semester, you and your adviser should agree upon a tentative four-year academic plan.

A successful advising program is based on a cooperative and understanding relationship between student and adviser. Consult your adviser regularly. Drop in and tell your adviser how the term is going. If you wish to add or drop a course, you should meet with your adviser to get their signature on the appropriate forms. Our advisers post office hours during which they are available for conversation. If you cannot find your adviser in his or her office, leave a note in their mailbox (or send them an email), indicating your wish to make an appointment. In that note, indicate several times when you could meet with your adviser and also indicate the means by which you can be contacted. Above all, do not hesitate to call your adviser on campus, to ask questions, or to arrange for an appointment. Most faculty members are also accessible through e-mail.

NYU-Poly degree requirements audits (graduation checklists) are prepared for students and updated every semester by our advisers during your registration advising appointment. The guide is intended to provide an overview of your academic progress and to answer the most commonly asked questions about your degree requirements.

Polytechnic Institute of NYU students are expected to play an active and important role in the academic planning process. Polytechnic Institute of NYU CIS advising staff is here to help students establish and realize their academic goals, acquire relevant information, utilize necessary services, and make responsible decisions compatible with their individual skills, interests, and potential.

Why Would I Meet an Academic Advisor?

• To assist in developing an educational plan consistent with life goals and objectives.
• To receive signed approval for each semester's courses.
• To learn specific departmental requirements and associated time lines.
• To drop or add a course.
• To monitor progress toward graduation.
• To understand degree requirements.
• To review transfer credits.
• To discuss academic problems or concerns.
• To receive referrals to other institutional or community support services.
• To clarify academic policies and procedures.
• To find out how to change my major.

Student Role and Responsibilities in the Advising Partnership

• To take initiative to meet with one's advisor at least once a semester.
• To contact and make an appointment with advisor when needed or requested
• To notify advisor of changes in appointment times.
• To adequately prepare for all advising sessions (see suggestions in next section on how to best prepare).
• To take responsibility for decisions made and follow through on actions discussed and identified during advising session.
• To maintain an up-to-date personal academic file of your Graduation Checklist, grade reports, transfer credits, etc.
• To know and meet basic university, college, and departmental graduation requirements of chosen major and minor.
• To become knowledgeable about institutional policies, procedures, and requirements.
• To become familiar with and appropriately use campus and community services available to assist in educational and career planning.
• To develop measurable educational and career goals and identify ways to assess progress toward these goals.
• To challenge one's self to understand personal values, interests and skills, and to responsibly engage in the advising process.

How to Prepare for Your Registration Appointment

• Sign-up for an appointment time on the CS Registration Appointment Schedule (you cannot meet with an advisor during registration with one). Schedule an advising appointment at least 24 hours in advance.
• Review courses completed toward fulfillment of graduation requirements. Review the Computer Science Curriculum Requirements in the Catalog for the appropriate classes to take for your academic standing.
• Come prepared with a list of preferred and alternate courses for the next semester.
• Bring a pen or pencil.
• Bring your personal academic file with you, which might include your checklist, grade reports, transcripts, transfer credit petitions, etc.
• Come prepared with a list of questions that you want to ask your advisor about your degree progress or career suggestions (see list of sample questions in the next section).

Advisor Roles and Responsibilities

• To help students obtain the maximum benefit from the educational opportunities offered at the University.
• To acquaint students with the values of an engineering education and degree.
• To assist students in understanding their abilities, interests, and limitations.
• To assist students in their consideration of life goals by relating interests, skills, abilities, and values to careers and world of work.
• To provide students with accurate information about the university, college, and departmental requirements and associated time lines.
• To assist students in developing decision-making skills.
• To assist students in the development of a course of study including the selection of electives which reflect the students' academic background and academic goals.
• To refer students to available campus and community resources, to help them meet individual needs.
• To make sufficient time available to meet with all students, especially during the advising/registration and drop/add sessions.
• To listening empathetically to the students' academic concerns but also to other concerns and know how to direct students to the necessary resources.
• To explain to students their future academic and/or professional options and opportunities and the course of study to pursue.
• To provide students with alternatives, limitations, and possible consequences of academic decisions.
• To maintain comprehensive and confidential records of advising contacts with students.